The present invention relates to a suspending or hanging device for suspending an article carrier such as a handgun holster or carrier for articles such as gun cartridges, flashlights or the like from a wearer's waistband or belt.
Article carriers such as gun holding holsters are typically carried on a wearer's body in a number of possible ways. One technique is a shoulder harness for carrying a gun concealed below the wearer's arm. It is also known for guns to be carried in a wearer's pocket. Finally, gun holsters may be suspended from a wearer's belt, or may be suspended from the waistband of the wearer's clothing. In this case, the gun can be concealed beneath a jacket, for example, if worn to one side of the wearer's body. Various devices are known for suspending gun holsters from a belt or waistband, including belt loops for encircling a belt, allowing a holster to be worn inside or outside the waistband, metal spring clips for engaging over a belt or waistband, and paddles attached to the rear of the holster for hooking over a belt or waistband.
One of the most desirable factors in a suspending device for carrying a holster at the waistband is the capability to adjust the position and angle of the holster. The optimum position and angle to allow for rapid drawing of the gun will vary from individual to individual, and thus adjustability is very important. The ability to draw a gun quickly and smoothly is extremely critical for law enforcement personnel, for example, who must be prepared to encounter life-threatening situations on a daily basis. Angle adjustability is also important to allow adjustment for the wearer's stance, for example from a straight down orientation when the wearer is in a standing position to a forward orientation when the wearer is sitting. Simple pivoting devices have been provided on holster suspending belt loops for this purpose. However, these arrangements typically do not meet the challenge of providing an adjustable and fixable angle in a device for carrying a holster at the waistband which is compact and stable enough for effective concealment.
One example of a pivoting belt loop adjustment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,972 of Parlante. In this case, a simple swivel joint is provided between the belt loop and holster. However, the holster is not securely held in the selected angular position and thus may move around during strenuous activity by the wearer, for example. U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,001 of Nichols describes a belt loop connected to a holster by an adjustable swivel connector. In this case, the holster angle may be adjusted by loosening a central screw, allowing relatively rotatable dimpled plates to be ratcheted relative to one another until the desired orientation is reached, after which the screw is tightened.
It is also desirable for the ride height of a holster to be adjustable to allow for different body types, from men to women and heavy build to light build, so that the wearer can adjust the holster height for optimum comfort, draw position, as well as concealability where the gun is to be carried concealed. Typical belt loops allow no height adjustment. Typical arrangements for carrying holsters at different heights include providing different slots on the holster so that it can be secured to the carrying device at different positions. However, adjustment is difficult and inconvenient to achieve in this case, requiring partial disassembly of the holster to achieve the adjustment. Also, such arrangements do not allow for the variation in body contours between different individuals. Paddles typically do not conform to a wide range of different body sizes, shapes and contours, from men to women and from thin to heavy. Thus, paddles can be pushed out by the wearer's natural body contours, making them uncomfortable and difficult to conceal.
Another problem which occurs in paddle type carrying devices is that they are typically very unstable. The advantage of the paddle is that it can be used regardless of whether the wearer is wearing a belt. However, since it simply hooks over the wearer's belt or waistband, it is not particularly stable, and can even be pulled out of the waistband when the wearer draws the gun from the holster. Also, such devices often become dislodged during any strenuous activity such as running or climbing, which law enforcement personnel often have to do when pursuing suspects. Attempts to provide some means to hold the paddle firmly inside the waistband have frequently been inadequate. For example, some paddles have straps which are intended to be secured around a belt for retention purposes. However, this does not overcome the problem of instability of the paddle itself, and is also ineffective unless a belt is worn at all times. Such paddles also typically do not allow the holster to be worn at an optimum, fixable angle. Due to their inherent instability, paddles may slip from a desired position to place a holster at an awkward angle, potentially making the draw of the gun substantially slower than normal, which may place the wearer at risk.
Other attempts to increase stability in paddle devices have involved increasing the paddle width, use of high friction materials, and provision of a spring clamping action. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,924 of Perkins describes a wire form, spring clip paddle which is easy to insert in the pants in practice but difficult to remove. The wire form can be uncomfortable, and still does not provide the desired degree of stability. U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,361 of Perkins describes a holster mounting clip or paddle secured to the holster via a swivel connector. The paddle is a relatively wide plate formed in a slightly inverted U-shape and dipped in a high friction, rubber-like material. The high friction material is the sole means for retaining the holster in the pants, and does not avoid the risk of the holster being pulled out accidentally when the gun is drawn, for example.
Other techniques for retaining a paddle have included hooks formed on the inner side of the holster. However, this does not avoid the risk of the holster rocking from side to side, and is also very abrasive on the wearer's clothing. This type is typically difficult to remove when the user no longer wishes to wear it, since it may catch on the clothing when being pulled up.